Probe into Brew Pub fire might stretch until December

The City Hall probe into the Wasatch Brew Pub fire might not be completed until mid-December, but the lead investigator said he is focused on three potential causes.

Park City Building Department official Kurt Simister, who is the deputy fire marshal, said the causes being considered are spontaneous combustion, an ignition source like a cigarette or a hot ember and an electrical malfunction.

The possibility of a spontaneous combustion of rags being used by workers resurfacing floors was broached soon after the Nov. 9 fire.

Simister said the Building Department gathered evidence from the scene. He declined to provide details about what was taken into evidence by the investigators. The evidence is being stored at the Park Avenue police station.

Simister said the entire Wasatch Brew Pub suffered smoke damage. There is water damage in half of the building, he said. The fire damage covers an approximate area of 196 square feet, he said. Simister estimated the dollar figure on the damage is at least $80,000.

Simister said City Hall is talking with several insurance companies about the blaze.

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The fire broke out sometime around 6 a.m. Firefighters found eight-foot flames on the south side of the building when they arrived. It took them approximately 40 minutes to put out the visible flames and then extinguish the rest of the fire. Nobody was inside when the fire started.

The owner of the Wasatch Brew Pub wants to reopen the day after Thanksgiving, saying the work is going well. The previous target was a partial reopening by Thanksgiving and a full reopening by Christmas week.